Sanctions Against Russia Over Ukrainian Crisis

On March 17, The United States, dissatisfied with Russia's actions during the crisis in Ukraine, introduced sanctions against high-ranking Russian politicians.

MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) — On March 17, The United States, dissatisfied with Russia's actions during the crisis in Ukraine, introduced sanctions against high-ranking Russian politicians. The sanctions banned the individuals from entering the United States and froze assets and property. The sanctions list comprised of 11 individuals, including Chairperson of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Russian Presidential Aide Vladislav Surkov, Adviser to the Russian President Sergei Glazyev, lawmakers Yelena Mizulina and Leonid Slutsky, and Senator Andrey Klishas. Sanctions were similarly introduced against Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov and Speaker of the Crimean Parliament Vladimir Konstantinov.

On the same day, the EU foreign ministers agreed on sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials, whom they deemed responsible for "undermining the territorial integrity of Ukraine." The sanctions were imposed for six months. The list of the sanctioned officials included parliamentarians Leonid Slutsky, Sergey Mironov, and Sergei Zheleznyak, Federation Council Members Andrey Klishas, Viktor Ozerov, Nikolay Ryzhkov, Vladimir Dzhabarov, Yevgeny Bushmin, Alexander Totoonov, and Oleg Panteleyev, commanders of the southern and western military districts Col. Gen. Alexander Galkin and Col. Gen. Anatoly Sidorov, and Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Vice Admiral Alexander Vitko. Sanctions were also imposed on Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, his First Deputy Rustam Temirgaliev, Speaker of the Crimean Parliament Vladimir Konstantinov and Deputy Speaker Sergei Tsekov, Advisor to the Parliament Speaker Yury Zherebtsov, Mayor of Sevastopol Alexei Chaly, Head of the Crimean Security Service Pyotr Zima and former Commander of the Ukrainian Navy Rear Admiral Denis Berezovsky. The list included 21 names.

March 17: The Canadian authorities imposed economic sanctions and visa restrictions on 10 major officials of Russia and Crimea. The list included Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, Advisor to the Russian President Sergei Glazyev, Presidential Aide Vladislav Surkov, Chairperson of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko, and Senator Andrey Klishas, as well as MPs Yelena Mizulina and Leonid Slutsky and Speaker of the Crimean Parliament Vladimir Konstantinov.

March 20: The US sanctions list was amended to include the names of 19 additional Russian officials, MPs and entrepreneurs: Russian Presidential Aide Andrei Fursenko, Presidential Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov and his First Deputy Alexei Gromov, the leader of A Just Russia Party Sergei Mironov, Speaker of the State Duma Sergey Naryshkin, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Igor Sergun, Head of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin and Director of the Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov. Sanctions also affected Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Sergei Zheleznyak, Head of the Presidential Property Management Department Vladimir Kozhin, and entrepreneurs Yury Kovalchuk, Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, and Gennady Timchenko. The list also included the names of Federation Council members Yevgeny Bushmin, Vladimir Dzhabarov, Viktor Ozerov, Oleg Panteleyev, Nikolay Ryzhkov, and Alexander Totoonov. Sanctions were also imposed on Rossiya Bank. The US Treasury Department said all those people were close allies of the Russian president.

March 21: The EU leaders decided to move to a new, second level of sanctions against Russia "in view of the grave situation in Ukraine." The expanded sanctions list included 12 additional citizens of Russia and Ukraine, including Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Advisor to the Russian President Sergei Glazyev, and Chairperson of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko. In addition, the list also names Speaker of the State Duma Sergei Naryshkin, State Duma Deputy Yelena Mizulina, Russian Presidential Aide Vladislav Surkov, and Dmitry Kiselev, Director General of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency. The list also included First Deputy Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Rear Admiral Alexander Nosatov, Deputy Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Rear Admiral Valery Kulikov, Head of the Central Electoral Commission of Crimea Mikhail Malyshev, Head of the Central Electoral Commission of Sevastopol Valery Medvedev, and Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District Lt. Gen. Igor Turchenyuk.

March 21: Canada amended its sanctions list related to the developments in Ukraine with 14 more names of Russian officials, and added Rossiya Bank to it.

April 11: The United States imposed sanctions on Crimea's energy company Cheronomorneftegaz and several Crimean officials. The sanctions affected Mayor of Sevastopol Alexei Chaly, First Deputy Prime Minister of Crimea Rustam Temirgaliev, heads of the Crimean and Sevastopol electoral commissions Mikhail Malyshev and Valery Medvedev, Advisor to the Speaker of the Crimean Parliament Yury Zherebtsov, former Head of the Ukrainian Security Service's Crimean Directorate Pyotr Zima and Crimean Representative in the Federation Council Sergei Tsekov.

April 11: Montenegro, Iceland, Albania, Norway and Ukraine joined the EU sanctions against individuals adopted March 17 and expanded March 21.

April 12: Canada imposed sanctions on Sevastopol Electoral Commission Head Valery Medvedev and his counterpart in the Crimean Electoral Commission Mikhail Malyshev, as well as on the Chernomorneftegaz oil and gas company.

April 28: The US government expanded its sanctions list yet again by adding seven Russian citizens and 17 Russian companies. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney explained that this was done because Russia "did nothing to observe the Geneva agreements." Carney also accused Moscow of complicity in the violence in eastern Ukraine. The sanctions affected Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, Rosneft Head Igor Sechin, and First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Vyacheslav Volodin. The list now also contained the names of Presidential Envoy to the Crimean Federal District Oleg Belaventsev, Head of the Federal Guard Service Yevgeny Murov, Rostec Head Sergei Chemezov and Chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Alexei Pushkov.

On the same day, April 28, the EU made the decision to expand the sanctions list. New names were made public April 29. The EU added 15 more persons to the list: Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army Valery Gerasimov, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Igor Sergun, Presidential Envoy to the Crimean Federal District Oleg Belaventsev, Minister of Crimean Affairs Oleg Savelyev, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Lyudmila Shvetsova, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Sergey Neverov, Acting Governor of Sevastopol Sergey Menyailo, Senator of the Federation Council from Crimea and Sevastopol Olga Kovatidi, Luhansk Militia Representative German Prokopyev, People's Governor of the Luhansk Region Valery Bolotov, leaders of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic Andrey Purgin and Denis Pushilin, deputy head of the Donbass People's Militia Sergei Tsyplakov, and leader of the Donbass Militia in Slavyansk Igor Strelkov.

April 29: Canada's sanctions list featured new entries: State Duma deputies Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Alexei Pushkov, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Vyacheslav Volodin, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, member of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Alexander Babakov, Presidential Envoy to the Crimean Federal District Oleg Belaventsev, and Head of the Federal Guard Service Yevgeny Murov, as well as the Rotenberg brothers. Expobank and Rosenergobank also appeared on the list of sanctioned companies.

April 29: Japan imposed additional sanctions against 23 Russian government officials, allegedly involved in violating Ukraine's sovereignty. The names of the officials were not released.

May 2: The Swiss authorities added 15 more names to the list of people who are subjected to financial restrictions in response to the expanded EU sanctions list.

May 12: The EU Foreign Affairs Council added to the sanctions list 13 individuals, who the EU said were guilty of destabilizing the situation in Ukraine. The list included First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Vyacheslav Volodin, Commander of the Airborne Forces Col. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov and Head of the State Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Development Vladimir Pligin. The list also included Crimean Prosecutor Natalya Poklonskaya, Sevastopol Prosecutor Igor Shevchenko, Acting Head of the Russian Migration Service in the Republic of Crimea Pyotr Yarosh, and Acting Head of the Migration Service in Sevastopol Oleg Kozyura. The EU also decided to freeze the assets of two Crimean and Sevastopol companies — Feodosia and Chernomorneftegaz.

May 13: The Canadian authorities announced additional sanctions against six Russian citizens and six Ukrainian supporters of federalization. The Russian section of the list included Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army Valery Gerasimov, Commander of the armed forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Igor Girkin (Strelkov), Acting Governor of Sevastopol Sergei Menyailo, deputy speakers of the State Duma Sergei Neverov and Lyudmila Shvetsova, Russian Crimean Affairs Minister Oleg Savelyev, and the first member of the Federation Council from the executive authorities of the Republic of Crimea Olga Kovatidi.

May 19: The Swiss authorities expanded the list of persons with financial and visa restrictions, adding 13 individuals in accord with the expanded EU sanctions list.

May 26: Montenegro, Iceland, Albania, Liechtenstein and Norway followed the execution of the EU sanctions lists.

June 19: Australia imposed financial sanctions on 50 Russians and 11 companies due to the situation in Ukraine. Earlier in March, the Australian authorities promised prompt sanctions against 12 Russian and Ukrainian officials. On May 21, the Australian government decided to expand sanctions against 38 more people and to introduce restrictions for 11 companies. The names on the blacklist were not made public at the time.

July 16: Washington synchronized its sanctions list with that of the EU. The United States imposed visa and financial restrictions on State Duma Deputy Speaker Sergei Neverov and Federal Minister on Crimean Affairs Oleg Savelyev, as well as Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic Alexander Boroday, who were earlier placed on the EU sanctions list. The US sanctions also included the Donetsk and Luhansk republics and Russian Presidential Aide Igor Shchegolev. The US authorities also introduced sanctions against some Russian defense and mineral companies. The sanctions list included Almaz-Antey Group, Uralvagonzavod, the Engineering Design and Manufacturing Company and several Rostec companies, such as Kalashnikov Group (formerly Izhmash), Sozvezdie, Radio Electronic Technologies, Bazalt and the Engineering Design Bureau. The sanctions pressed Russia's largest oil company Rosneft and the country's largest independent natural gas producer Novatek, the oil terminal in Feodosia, as well the Russian development bank Vnesheconombank and one of the biggest commercial banks Gazprombank. The sanctions against Russian banks do not call for freezing their assets, but rather a ban on US credits for over 90 days.

The EU leaders decided during their summit on July 16 on an agreement on expanding the sanctions criteria and to compile by the end of the month a list of individuals and companies to be targeted by focused EU restriction measures.

July 24: Canada followed the United States and included a number of Russian defense and mineral companies and banks in its sanctions list. The sanctions targeted Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank and Russia"s second biggest natural gas producer Novatek among other companies. The Canadian prime minister explained that the sanctions foresee the cancellation of loans for blacklisted power companies and financial institutions.

July 26: The EU sanctions list added 15 new individuals and 18 legal entities, including Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev, Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Rashid Nurgaliev, member of the Security Council Boris Gryzlov, employee of the Federal Security Service Sergei Beseda and Moscow Legislature Deputy Mikhail Degtyaryov. Among the newly sanctioned companies were the Kerch Ferry Line, Sevastopol commercial seaport, Kerch commercial seaport, Universal-Avia state enterprise, Nizhnyaya Oreanda health resort, Azov Liquor Plant, Massandra national agricultural association, Magarach agricultural company and Novy Svet sparkling wine producer.

July 29: The EU made an official confirmation that it had agreed on an economic sanctions package against Russia effective as of August 1. The EU also confirmed that eight more individuals and three legal entities had been included in the sanctions list and their names were released July 30. Among them were First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Alexei Gromov, four Russian businessmen, the head of the Crimean Interior Ministry, and two representatives of the self-proclaimed people's republics in eastern Ukraine.

July 29: The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on the Bank of Moscow, VTB and Rosselkhozbank and the United Ship-Building Corporation of the Russian Federation.

August 5: The Swiss government expanded its sanctions list due to Russia's stance on Ukraine and added 26 Russian and Ukrainian nationals and 18 companies to the list: Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People"s Republic Alexander Boroday, Head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People"s Republic Security Service Alexander Khodakovsky, Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, and Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov.

On the same day, the Japanese government approved additional sanctions against 40 individuals and the Crimean companies Chernomorneftegaz and Feodosia. The sanctions included the freezing of assets, belonging to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Acting Head of the Republic of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov, Speaker of the State Council of the republic Vladimir Konstantinov, former Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliev, Deputy Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Denis Berezovsky, former Governor of Sevastopol Alexei Chaly, former head of Sevastopol's Security Service Pyotr Zima, Advisor to the Crimean Legislature Speaker Yury Zherebtsov, senators from the Republic of Crimea Sergey Tsekov and Olga Kovitidi, Head of the republic's Electoral Commission Mikhail Malyshev, Head of the Sevastopol Electoral Commission Valery Medvedev, and Sevastopol Governor Segei Menyailo.

The sanctions also targeted Head of the Russian Migration Service in the Republic of Crimea Pyotr Yarosh, Head of the Migration Service in Sevastopol Oleg Kozyura , Crimean Prosecutor Natalya Poklonskaya, and Sevastopol Prosecutor Igor Shevchenko. The list also contained the names of the commander of the self-defense forces of the Donetsk People's Republic Igor Strelkov (Girkin), a leader of the Luhansk Guard German Prokopyev, head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic Valery Bolotov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic Andrei Purgin, former head of the Supreme Council of the Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin, deputy head of the Donbass militia Sergei Tsyplakov, former "people's mayor" of Slaviansk Vyacheslav Ponomarev, Commander of the Donbass People's Militia in Horlivka Igor Bezler, Donetsk People's Republic Defense Minister Igor Kakidzyanov, Ukrainian MP Oleg Tsarev, former head of the Donetsk People's Republic's Central Electoral Commission Roman Lyagin, head of the Lugansk People's Republic Central Electoral Commission Alexander Malykhin, Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Boroday, Head of the Security Service of the Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Khodakovsky, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Policy Alexander Kalyussky, member of the Cabinet of the Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Khryakov, Acting Prime Minister of the Luhansk People's Republic Marat Bashirov, Speaker of the Luhansk People's Republic Assembly Vasily Nikitin, Speaker of the Supreme Council of the Luhansk People's Republic Alexei Karyakin, Interior Minister of the Luhansk People's Republic Yury Ivakin, Defense Minister of the Luhansk People's Republic Igor Plotnitsky, Head of the Don Cossack Host Nikolai Kozitsyn and a leader of the Luhansk People's Republic militia Alexei Mozgovoy.

August 6: Canada expanded its anti-Russia sanctions list by including 19 Russian and Ukrainian nationals and five Russian banks, including the Bank of Moscow, Rosselkhozbank, Russian National Commercial Bank and VTB Bank. The Canadian sanctions also targeted a number of heads of Russian law enforcement agencies, such as Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov, member of the Security Council Boris Gryzlov, Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, Head of the Fifth Directorate of the Federal Security Service Sergei Beseda, Commander the Border Guard Service of the Russian Federal Security Service Vladimir Kulishov, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council Rashid Nurgaliev, and Moscow Legislature Deputy Mikhail Degtyaryov. Additionally, the list included the names of Governor of the Krasnodar Region Alexander Tkachev, Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, Presidential Aide and former Communications Minister Igor Shchegolev, Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev and Rossiya Bank shareholder Nikolai Shamalov.

The list also included Crimean Interior Minister Sergei Abisov, a leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Pavel Gubarev, his wife Foreign Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic Yekaterina Gubareva, Speaker of the Donetsk People's Republic Supreme Council Boris Litvinov and Oksana Chigrina, a press service employee of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic.

The sanctions also impacted some executive agencies of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics and self-defense forces' military units. Consequently, the list featured the Vostok Battalion and the Army of the Southeast.

Furthermore, the sanction lists included several Crimean companies: the Kerch commercial port and Kerch Ferry Line, Massandra Winery, Novy Svet winery, Sevastopol commercial port, Magarach National Institute for Grapes and Wine, and Universal-Avia airlines. The Russian Dobrolet airlines and the United Ship-Building Corporation are also included in the list.

August 11: Norway decided to join the EU sanctions against Russia enforced July 31.

August 14: Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada (parliament) adopted a law that sets out the possibility of introducing over 20 types of sanctions on Russia, including a ban on energy transit via Ukraine. The Ukrainian government will now be able to forward a sanctions list comprising 172 individuals and 65 companies in Russia and in several other countries to the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). On September 10, President Petro Poroshenko signed the bill into law, which became effective on September 12.

September 1: Australia approved a ban on the export of weapons and oil and gas equipment to Russia, blocked the Russian state banks' access to the Australian capital market, and banned investment in and trade with Crimea. It also added 63 individuals and 21 companies to the sanctions list and suspended uranium deliveries to Russia.

September 3: France once again warned Russia that it could suspend the delivery of the contracted Mistral helicopter carriers over the crisis in Ukraine, in which Russia is directly involved, according to France. Later, a spokesperson of the French president said the delivery had not been legally suspended. President Francois Hollande announced that he would make a decision on the delivery of the first of two Mistral-class warships to Russia in late October.

September 12: the European Union published a new set of restrictive measures against Russia, in particular oil companies Rosneft, Transneft and Gazprom Neft. The sanctions also ban the export of certain dual use items to nine Russian defense companies, including Oboronprom, United Aircraft Corporation, Uralvagonzavod and Kalashnikov Concern.

Additional sanctions against Russian oil companies include a ban on the use of foreign exploration and production services in deep-water, Arctic and shale oil projects.

The EU also restricted several Russian state banks' access to loans and reduced their maturity.

September 12: The United States Department of Treasury confirmed that it was expanding sanctions against Russian companies, and increasing the number of sanctioned Russian entities in the financial, energy and defense sectors. This newest round of sanctions also adds Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, to the list of sanctioned financial institutions.

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